Katyn documents released

30th April 2010

Russia took another step on the road to reconciliation with Poland after it released documents that proved Stalin ordered the Katyn massacre.

Maintaining the spirit of goodwill created by the Smolensk air crash, Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, said that the he had ordered the release of the documents because the world needed to know, once and for all, who ordered the slaughter of thousands of Poles in the spring of 1940.

“Let everyone know what was done, who made the decisions, who ordered the elimination of the Polish officers,” Mr Medvedev said. “Everything is written there. With all the signatures,” he continued, adding that “we have to draw lessons from history” ...